In his legal report, Cooper updated the district's board of directors on the latest development regarding the controversial plan, which proposes to build two tunnels that would take water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and move it south. Cooper said the state estimates the project will cost about $14 billion, though he noted that other experts estimate a price tag of up to $50 billion.

The draft was released to the public on Dec. 13 and public comment on the matter closes on April 14, 2014.

Cooper said the district must register its comments and concerns within the public comment period or it will have no standing in case the matter goes to litigation.

"I physically can't do it. My office can't do it," Cooper said of the lengthy draft. Board President Larry Duncan joked that Cooper had to "only read 460 pages a day."

Instead, Cooper said the district is part of a coalition of North State water entities that are looking into the plan and dividing the workload.

Cooper said he is going to focus on "X2," which is the location of the salinity line in the delta.

The more water is pushed into the delta, the more it pushes the salinity line toward the Golden Gate Bridge, Cooper said.

"That would be important to the district because if they push the salinity line out that means more water has to flow through the delta and there could be additional water demands on this district," he said.

He is also focusing on the cost of the project, noting that everybody will likely have to pay for it.

Duncan asked if Proposition 218, which demands a vote of the people for certain fee hikes, would pay for the project.

But Cooper said the state doesn't have to comply with Proposition 218. He said the state uses "very ambiguous language" when it comes to paying for the project. Expanded water rights fees, additional fees for treated water and other taxes could be used, Cooper said.

"The plan is not going to be that detailed, so it's going to be left for interpretation," he said.

Cooper said the district is partially paying for biologists, modelers and other experts to look at the project. He added that the project is based on technical models.

"We've got some very good experts to help us explain why their modeling is inaccurate," he said.

He said the current model is underestimating the delta deliveries by 200,000 acre-feet. In comparison, the district as a whole only uses about 5,000 to 6,000 acre-feet.

"They're underestimating the impact of their own project based on their own model," Cooper said. "What's fascinating is that (Department of Water Resources) recognizes that there are these modeling errors. But because there is so much political pressure to get this document on the street, they don't have time to fix it."

Cooper estimated work on the project will cost the districts less than $25,000 to $35,000 over the next five months.

He said the district can invest additional money in hiring experts and fighting the project all the way.

"I don't think you ought to do that," he said. "I still think this thing is going to collapse under its own weight."

He said the board should monitor the project and prepare itself in case it needs to take a more active role, but advised against spending money unnecessarily.

Cooper said he is attending various meetings about the project between now and April and will report back to the board as he gets additional information.